Part V

The next morning, Raion left by himself to go see Luna, to see if she would escort him in the forest. He was still hesitant around Kari and he had no idea how he would contact her anyway. He knocked on the door of her manor and then entered, glad he wasn’t shoved out by her power. Quietly shutting the door, he looked around, hearing no sounds of activity. He moved upstairs after checking the living room and found her lying on the hall. Startled, he rushed forward and hesitantly touched her pedant. It burst with power and he winced, drawing his fingers away. So she’s still alive, he decided, only unconscious. He leaned down and peered at her face. Her face was soft, her cold mask dropped, and was stained with tears. “My lady?” He murmured, gently shaking her. Her eyes opened and met his. She frowned in disapproval and sat up, brushing her hair from her face. “I apologize for intruding on you,” he said in a sincere voice. “If you’re feeling unwell – ”

“I am unwell, my lord, but not in the way you imagine.” She stood up and murmured, “I suspect you came so that I can escort you in the forest. Allow me to clean up and I will be ready.” Raion watched as she left to her room, snapping the door shut behind her and locking it. He stared at the closed door in surprise. Shaking himself back to reality, he left downstairs to wait.

Minutes passed and then Luna came downstairs. He almost flinched. She looked even lovelier than before. She was wearing a light lavender dress that hung on her shoulders and sleeves that were wide and almost completely covered her hands. Her white-blonde hair tumbled down her back and over her shoulders, the bangs shadowing her eyes that hid an emotion that Raion was afraid to see. As his gaze moved downward, he saw that the dress split on one side, showing her smooth calf and her ankle-high brown boots. Luna frowned at his stare and demanded, “Are we ready to leave?” He nodded mutely, following her outside.

“There will only be four of us that will go with you today,” Raion supplied. She glanced at him to show that she was listening. “Myself, Youel, Jaryl, and Mikau,” he named.

“And the others?”

“They are going into town.” She nodded, as though approving his decision. They were silent as they continued up the hill to the edge of the forest. Mikau and the other two Elders were waiting for them. Without so much as pausing for them, she entered the forest. They followed and Youel grimaced at the sight of her silken skin. Mikau, too, looked slightly uncomfortable and that was rare for him these days.

“Where would you like to go?” She asked, turning her head slightly.

“Ah...Well, nowhere specific, really. Anywhere the humans might wander to. The Wind Demons are experts at hiding their presence when going into territory that is not theirs, so they could be here, too.”

“You are right, of course,” Luna agreed as they continued, “but that does not mean we won’t sense that they were there when we come to a spot such as that.” Raion nodded and sighed through his nose. Luna moved through the forest ahead of them, gliding effortlessly through the trees and over the uneven land. The Elders and Mikau, however, struggled behind her. She paused when they came to a large meadow in the center of the forest, turning to watch them trip and stumble out of the forest. She eyed them grimly, saying, “If there are Wind Demons around and you intend on confronting them, then you might think to be more careful.”

“We cannot go as quickly as you can, lady,” Youel snapped, flicking branches off his clothes. “If you did not move so fast through that hell of a forest, then we might be able to be quieter and such.” She eyed him, frowning.

“If you Fire Demons were more agile, then we wouldn’t have this problem at all,” Luna informed him coldly. She turned from them, saying, “Look around this meadow, for the Wind Demons enjoy this place.” And it was true that when the Fire Demons’ power skimmed over the place, they could feel the vague leftover power of the Wind Demons. They spread out and Mikau probed the dirt with his power. Luna watched them warily and then Mikau came close to her. Not paying attention, he nearly ran into her. She sidestepped, her skirts brushing his legs. He gave her a guiltily apologetic look when he realized what he had done.

“My apologies, lady,” he murmured formally. Luna eyed him from beneath her long lashes and then glanced towards the Elders.

“Tell me, Mikau,” she began quietly, “what do you and your people intend on doing once you catch a Wind Demon? They are your allies.” She flicked a glance at him, adding, “Unlike us.” His face hardened and he turned it from her, silent. She was right, of course. Luna, he had learned when he was younger, had always been right the majority of the time. Despite him knowing the truth, he tried to assure himself that he could become closer to her, if only a bit. Secretly, Mikau admired her. She was beautiful, but did not use her looks to get what she wanted. She was powerful, but only used her power when it was absolutely needed. And, people may not know it, but she was kind. She could have left him out in the ocean when he was a child. Any other Water Demon would have thrown him back in once they discovered what he was. She, on the other hand, saved him.

“Who can ever be sure of what the Elders are going to do?” He countered in a soft voice. She frowned at him and moved away from him, her skirts swinging around her ankles. His eyes moved on their own from her pale, bare shoulders, down to the sparse amount of skin of her ankle. He swore at himself mentally, reminding himself that showing such weaknesses would only get him in trouble. After all, he thought bitterly, my master always taught me that women were the Devil’s creatures. They seduce, they hurt, and they relish in the pain. However, when Mikau gazed on Luna’s face when she turned her head to look at the Elders, he could not imagine her bringing pain upon him. Not intentionally, anyway. I promised myself to never love a woman, he told himself angrily, and now, here I am, going back on that promise. His eyes turned sad. But it’s hard not to when it is the same woman I vowed against...

When the sun began to set on the horizon, they had found nothing helpful in the meadow or any parts of the forest. With a sigh, the Elders and Mikau followed Luna through the forest. She was unusually quiet, her back stiff. Raion wondered to himself what had put the Water Demon so on edge. She stopped abruptly, holding an arm out to halt them. “Get down,” she ordered, “and get close.” They did as told and she swept over them, her fingers brushing their shoulders. She paused, kneeling next to Raion and Youel.

“What is it?” Youel asked quietly, frowning. She shook her head, her lips pursed. Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head upward, her eyes piercing the sky.

“You will not get in this territory, my friend,” she murmured, raising her hand. A burst of water exploded from her palm, shooting into the sky and capturing and large, winged beast. She brought it down as it tried to hopelessly fight against the water barrier. She stood and gestured for them to do so. “And who sent you?” She asked coldly. The beast shrieked at her in rage, its eyes flashing. “Stop your tantrum,” Luna ordered and the water that was used as a cage moved closer to the beast, which shrieked even louder. “You will answer my questions or you will die.” The beast settled down into a meek manner, its eyes glaring at her.

“My master,” it growled in a harsh voice, “is one that not even you can defeat, Water Demon. The Wind Demon Lord, Araknas!” Its voice lilted triumphantly at the name of its master.

“You are cocky, just as your master is, no doubt,” she said coolly. A hiss emitted from the creature.

“You dare speak about my Lord in such a disrespectful manner? Foolish, aren’t you, Water Demon? But there is no reason for me to care. You and all the other Elemental-Demons will bow before the great Araknas!” The beast began to laugh and she turned her back to it, taking a few steps.

“Farewell.” She raised her hand and the water crashed into the beast, its voice rising to a high-pitched yowl of pain and fear. Then, there was silence. Mikau shivered, staring at the remains of the beast. She turned slightly and said, “I think we have our answer to who is stimulating the correspondence between the Wind Demons and the humans. I will take you to your camp to see what your other Fire Demons have to say. As for myself, I will have to make contact with my Elders.”

“You intend to do something about this?” Raion asked with some surprise.

“The Wind Demons are threatening the rest of the Elemental-Demons now and I cannot allow that to pass by. Not in my territory.”

X

Llauron gave a tired smile as his favorite student swept into his rooms, her white-blonde hair fluttering around her. As usual, she looked lovely as ever with a dress that hugged her shoulders and glided over her curves with a tantalizing touch. Llauron knew, though, that never would his hands meet that body, nor would he ever be driven to insanity with her wanton ways in the bedroom. He was, unsurprisingly, dismal that he could not taste that sweet passion ever again. Now, they were friends, and she was now, as she had been at one time, his favorite student again. Luna’s slight smile cheered him, though and he took her hands, gently squeezing them. “What can I do for you, my dear?” He asked quietly. He was still getting over last night. He could see in her face that she, too, was thinking over last night’s events.

“I am hoping that you can assist me, Llauron,” she replied. “I have always looked to you for help and I still will.” He acknowledged her statement with a short nod. “Answer me this: who is the Wind Demon, Araknas?”

“Araknas?” Llauron repeated with surprise. “Why...he’s a great Lord of the Wind Demons. He’s very powerful and used to cause all sorts of problems long ago, but then he suddenly stopped and has been quiet for quite a bit of time. Why do you ask? Did something happen with him?”

“No, but there was a beast flying above the forest when I was taking the Fire Demons through the forest. When I interrogated it, the creature told me that Araknas intends to have the ‘Elemental-Demons bow down to him.’” Her eyes were dark with anger and Llauron’s hands clenched around hers. “Llauron?”

“Luna, thank heavens that you came to me before you acted. I know how angry you are with a statement such as that, but Araknas is deathly powerful! How much, we cannot tell by now. If he has been honing that power, then, well, we will have a huge dilemma on our hands.” She frowned. “Now, don’t worry, things can be worked out. I can assure you that – ” A knock came on the door and Kamayr entered. He frowned at Luna, who frowned back at him.

“Kamayr,” she greeted, inclining her head politely.

“Luna,” he answered smoothly. “You normally never come unless called. What brings you here?”

“It seems Araknas is going to take the Earth, Fire, and Water Demons down – or try, anyway,” Llauron explained briefly.

“I know. Aryl has just informed me of this. He is outside,” Kamayr added, gesturing to the door. “Shall I bring him in?”

“Do so,” Llauron answered, nodding. Kamayr left and returned with Aryl trailing after him. He sent a brilliant smile to Luna, who nodded to him in greeting. He stood beside Kamayr, who had a grim face. “You know of Araknas, then, Aryl?”

“Unfortunately so, Elder,” Aryl concurred gravely. “Trust me, I had no intention on finding this information out – certainly not the way I did. It seems that the Wind Demons have begun to – ” he winced “ – mate with the humans.”

“Vile!” Kamayr snarled, having not heard this information. Luna’s lip curled in a disgusted sneer and Llauron himself seemed irked by this information. Out of all of them, Water Demons despised the humans the most for their awful scent and their crude ways. The Water Demons were known for being refined, calm (in most cases,) and charming. Many humans, on the other hand, were hardly that. Along with that, the majority of the humans polluted the water with their wastes and wasted water. And water being their Element, Water Demons could not stand the humans for that.

“All of the Elemental-Demons are known for hating humans,” Llauron said, his voice sounding a bit hysterical. “Why in the world would the Wind Demons do this?”

“To spite us, perhaps?” Luna suggested with a dark look.

“To be sure, that would add up,” Kamayr agreed, “but would they truly go that far? I mean, this is doing such an intimate act – with a human.” The only time, Luna reflected, that she and Kamayr ever got along was when there was a meeting such as this. Their ideas were very much the same, as they were serious persons, and therefore, they often sided with each other if there was ever an argument. Neither of them really knew why, outside of these meetings, they despised each other so much.

“Yes,” Aryl murmured bitterly, “with a human. The Wind Demons have shamed themselves doing such a thing with those...those...” He shook his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself. “I cannot even say the words. I cannot handle even thinking about such a terrible, immoral event occurring!” Kamayr and Luna nodded, looking at Llauron, who gave a weary sigh.

“We must remain calm. If the Wind Demons are declaring war this way, then so be it. I’m afraid that will we have to hold a council meeting among all the Elders – excluding the Wind Demons, of course. Yes, I am talking about the Fire Demons as well.” A hiss of distaste came from Aryl and Kamayr. “Luna,” he turned to her, “I would like it if you would please put this upon them and escort them to the Chamber of the Heavens.”

“Shall I inform Kari of this?” She queried.

“Yes.”

“...Very well. I was, however, going to ask if I could take someone with me to investigate something. The creature I spoke of was going deeper into the forest. I will have Kari check on it, of course, but I would prefer to do it myself.”

“Certainly. Aryl can go with you. He is capable of such a task.”

“Very well.” She glanced at Aryl, before saying sincerely, “Thank you, then, Llauron.”

“You are most welcome.”

End Part V